Learn snowboarding – Freeriding for beginners03:49

In this video, professional snowboard guide Martin Zarfl from Freeride Hotspot, is giving you useful tipps for your first turns off-piste.

M: Hello, my name is Martin Zarfl. I’ll show you the first exercises for Freeride beginners.

VO: When you feel safe on the piste with the board, you’re ready for your first turns in the powder. With the following exercises, you’ll quickly get the hang of it.

To get used to the powder snow, do several schuss descents in medium-steep terrain, right beside the piste. With a rocker-board you can enter the powder quite centrally – and with a board without rocker, you shift your weight slightly onto your back foot, to avoid your nose getting submerged in the powder.

Next, try the feel of pushing the tail down into the snow – and pulling the nose up.

With a little more speed and a faster sequence of movements, your board will rise almost completely above the snow surface.

Next, try to combine the dolphin-like movement of your board with slight changes of direction. Use the phase in which your board floats over the snow to rotate the board and edge switch. At first, the changes in direction are still limited, and they don’t go beyond the fall line. As you gain confidence, you’ll keep turning further all the time.

The slightly flattened powder directly beside the piste is a good place to train. A pronounced up-down movement makes it easier for you to turn and edge switch.

With a little practice, you’ll quickly circle your first turns into the fresh powder. With more speed, you need less up and down movement to turn the board and to edge switch.

Even if the correct technique can be learned easily and intuitively, we definitely recommend that you get a guide for your first turns off-piste. The open terrain holds many hidden dangers that can only be correctly identified and assessed by professionals! Moreover, modern safety equipment is strongly recommended.

This includes an avalanche transceiver worn on the body and a backpack with a First Aid kit, a shovel and a probe. A good alpine backpack also has an airbag function, which reduces the likelihood of being buried under deep snow.

Have fun freeriding! Your Bergfex team.

principal: www.bergfex.at
video & film production: www.motionmanager.at
snowboard school and snowboard guide: www.freeride-hotspot.com